Bag opener



y 7, 1954 H. c, VGERRISH 2,684,807

BAG OPENER Filed Dec. 29, 1950 'INVENTOR Patented July 27, 1954 UNITED STATES t ATENT OFFICE BAG OPENER Herbert C. Gerrish, San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Application December 29, 1950, Serial No. 203,516

1 Claim. 1

Generally speaking, the present invention relates to the packaging art. More specifically, it relates to a system for opening a bag (usually a sealed bag) in a manner whereby convenient access to the contents thereof (usually, though not necessarily, a perishable food product) will be facilitated.

At the present time, a great many types of perishable food products such as potato chips, corn chips, peanuts, pop-corn and the like, are packaged for retail sale in bags usually made of tearable material such as paper, cellophane or the like (usually transparent) having a closed end and another end provided with sealed closure means adapted to be manually opened when the perishable food product is to be removed. Usually the bag is effectively sealed in a grease impervious and/or moisture impervious manner by suitable sealing agents such as wax, paraffin, or the like, at the ends thereof. The tearable paper like material (usually transparent) of which the bag is made may also be suitably coated or impregnated with grease and/or moisture impervious or resistant agents. This is desirable because most of the types of perishable food products packaged in such bags are cooked in grease before packaging and the grease on the food product would penetrate almost any ordinary type of package and would grease stain any thing with which the package came into contact. This is also true of peanuts or the like, which are not cooked in grease or oil but which contain oil Within themselves. The above mentioned prior art packaging arrangements have several disadvantages. One of these is the fact that the sealed closure means at one end of a prior art bag of the type mentioned, which is adapted to be manually opened when the perishable food product is to be removed, provides an opening neck which is relatively long in relationship to the cross-sectional area of the opening, thus making it necessary for a person who wishes to remove some of the food product to insert his hand through the opening neck and move same downward substantially within the interior of the bag before reaching the potato chips or other food product contained therein. This is undesirable for three reasons. First, the inside of the bag is relatively greasy and all of the fingers, most of the hand, a portion of the wrist and possibly portions of a cuff around a persons wrist will frequently come into contact with the greasy interior of the open neck of the bag and will become daubed or stained with the grease. This is quite a messy procedure and necessitates 2 thorough washing and cleansing of the hands, which may be difiicult or impossible if the bag of potato chips or the like, is opened for use at an outdoor or picnic lunch or any other location where cleansing facilities are not conveniently at hand.

Another disadvantage to the above mentioned prior art packaging arrangement is the fact that each person who wishes to remove some potato chips, or other food product, must reach into the interior of the bag and come into contact with large areas thereof and also come into contact with substantial amounts of potato chips. This is quite unsanitary particularly since each user will ordinarily remove his hand, which is partly full of potato chips, and will usually find it necessary to cuphis hand and place it to his mouth. Then the persons hand will usually be replaced within the sack to obtain a new supply of potato chips. Thus the bag of potato chips will act as a receptacle for the micro-organisms carried on the hands and in the mouths of each of the plurality of persons removing potato chips therefrom. This is extremely undesirable since it facilitates the spread of communicable diseases.

A third disadvantage of the hereinabove mentioned prior art packaging arrangements arises from the fact that the hand of a person attempting to remove some potato chips from the relatively long neck of the bag will frequently agitate and come into contact with a relatively large number of the fragile potato chips and break them into substantially smaller pieces, which is undesirable because they are harder to remove from the bag and more time consuming to eat.

The hereinabove enumerated disadvantages of prior art packaging methods of the type mentioned, are so pronounced that a great many people will not attempt to eat potato chips directly from the bag but will pour a selected quantity of chips from the bag into a dish or other similar receptacle which is open at the top, so that convenient access thereto by any desired number of people positioned therearound can be had. However, this can only be done where such a dish or receptacle is available, which may not be the case under every circumstance when the potato chips are to be eaten. Even on planned picnics and the like it is inconvenient to have to carry along an extra large dish or receptacle for this purpose.

Generally speaking, the system of the present invention includes a thin longitudinal tensile member (usually a thread, string, wire or the like) adapted to be mounted or fastened on the 3 inside surface of a bag (usually one side) made of thin tearable material, with at least one portion of said tensile member passing through aperture means (usually sealed) in said bag from the interior to the exterior thereof whereby said portion of said tensile member can be manually grasped and pulled to effectively sever selected portions of the bag lying over said tensile member thus providing a convenient entry or access hole into said bag.

In one preferred general form of the present invention, the thin longitudinal tensile member may be arranged in the form of a loop so as to provide a conveniently shaped entry hole when the longitudinal tensile member is grasped and pulled.

In one general form of the present invention the bag may be of the type also provided with selectively openable closure means at one end adapted to be manually opened when desired.

From the above general description of the present invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that all of the hereinabove mentioned disadvantages of prior art packaging arrangements, are virtually entirely eliminated in the present invention.

For example, in the form of the present invention wherein the longitudinal tensile member is positioned in generally oval shaped looped relationship beneath one side of the potato chip bag or the like, on the inside thereof, the longitudinal tensile member can be pulled by means of the portion or portions extending through the aperture means to the exterior of the bag in a manner such as to partially or wholly cut out an oval shaped flap in approximately the center of one side of the bag. The bag can be placed on a suitable flat surface, such as a table or the like, with the oval shaped, centrally positioned cutout portion uppermost. In this position the bag actually functions as a dish with the top open so as to provide convenient access to the potato chips from any adjacent point in a manner virtually identical with that which would be provided by an ordinary dish or bowl.

sealed container for the food product and a convenient dispensing dish for use when the food is to be eaten. It will be understood that it will not be necessary to reach through a relatively long narrow neck into the interior of the bag in the undesirable prior art manner since the potato chips or other food products will be lying in completely accessible position and can be removed Without reaching into the interior of the bag. Thus all of the hereinabove mentioned prior art disadvantages such as the grease staining of fingers, hands, and cuffs, the unsanitary aspect wherein the bag and potato chips were contaminated with the individuals microorganisms, and the tendency to pulverize or crush the fragile ptato chips, are all virtually entirely eliminated.

It should be noted that the flap produced by the severing action of the longitudinal tensile member may be completely out out or it may be only partially cut out and folded into an open -position. This latter arrangement may be employed-when only part of the potato chips are to be eaten at one sitting. After finishing less than the complete contents of the bag, the flap may be repositioned 'to close the access or entry hole and the portion of the bag adjacent to the free "end of the flap may be rolled toward said free end of the flap-so as to" engage it and effectively Close the bag, i.

It shoul'dalso be noteatnat the system of the Thus the system of the present invention provides both a present invention may be employed in association with a bag of the hereinabove mentioned prior art type which has the customary selectively openable means at one end thereof. This may be for the purpose of allowing the entry hole of the present invention to be employed under certain circumstances and to allow the customary end of the bag to be opened when it is desired to remove or pour the entire contents thereof into a dish or other receptacle. This combined form of the present invention thus has multiple uses and individual advantages.

With the above points in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system for opening a bag in a manner whereby convenient access to the contents thereof will be facilitated.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system for opening a bag in a manner whereby convenient access to the contents thereof will be facilitated virtually without substantial entry into the interior of the bag.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a bag having selectively operable means adapted to produce a convenient. access hole thereinto in a manner whereby the bag will be capable of acting as a containing and dispensing dish.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide systems of the character set forth in any or all of the three above mentioned objects wherein the bag is provided with additional closure means adapted to be manually opened when desired.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system of the type mentioned in any or all of the above mentioned objects wherein the bag is adapted to be provided with closure means at one end thereof arranged to be manually opened when desired.

Qther and allied objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art after a careful perusal, examination, and study of the accompanying illustrations, the present specification, and the appended claims.

To facilitate understanding, reference will be made to the hereinbelow described drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of one illustrative form of the present invention shown in partially open position.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the form of the present invention shown in Fig. 1 but before the bag is opened through the use of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary, sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows III-III in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary, horizontal, sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows IVIV in both Figs. 2 and 3.

Generally speaking, the system of the present invention for opening a bag (usually a sealed bag) in a manner whereby convenient access to the contents thereof will be facilitated, includes a thin longitudinal tensile member adapted to be mounted (as by suitable cementing or the like) on the inside surface of a bag made of thin tearable material with at least one portion of said tensile member passing through aperture means in said bag from the interior to the exterior thereof whereby said portion of said tensile member can be manually grasped and pulled to effectively sever selected portions of the bag lying over said tensile member thus providing a convenient entry hole into said bag.

Inthe specificexample described and illustrated herein, the thin longitudinal tensile memher is fastened to the inside surface of one side of a bag between the ends thereof and is in the form of a generally oval loop provided with ends passing virtually together through the aperture means in said bag from the interior to the exterior thereof whereby said ends may be manually grasped and pulled to effectively cut out any desired portion of the bag lying immediately over and within the virtually oval loop to provide a convenient access hole into said bag from one side thereof.

In the specific example described and illustrated, the bag is of the type adapted to be closed at one end and adapted to be provided with sealed closure means at the other end which are intended to be manually opened when a perishable food means contained in the bag is to be removed.

In the specific example described and illustrated, the bag is indicated generally at l. The closed end is indicated at 2 and the sealed closure means at the other end adapted to be manually opened is ind cated at 3. The bag I has a front side 2 and a similar back side (which is not shown in detail since it is not necessary for an adequate understanding of the present invention). The front and back sides 4 and 5 of the bag are joined by suitable lateral edges such as the near edge 5 and a similar far edge (not shown in detail) which are adapted to be slightly inwardly pleated or folded with respect to the edges of the front side a and the back side 5 of the bag I.

In the specific example described and illustrated, the thin longitudinal tensile member arranged in substantially oval looped form is indicated at l and is suitably cemented or fastened adhesively, cohesively or otherwise to the inside surface of the front side i of the bag 5 by means indicated at EB in Fig. l with the two ends YA extending through suitable aperture means in-- dicated generally at 8 connecting the interior and the exterior of the bag. In the specific form described and illustrated, the aperture means 3 is provided with sealing means 9 adapted to seal the interior of the bag from ambient atmosphere so as to prevent deterioration of the perishable food contained in the bag.

The operation of the system of the present invention may be very briefly described as follows. The bag of potato chips shown in Fig. 2 may be grasped in one hand (usually the left) and either or both of the ends M of the tensile member I can be grasped, either simultaneously or sequentially, and pulled. This will cause the portions of the front side i of the bag lying immediately over the tensile member l to be severed as best shown in Fig. 1. The severing operation can be continued to any desired extent. Thus the flap H can be only partially severed from the front side t of the bag or can be completely severed and removed therefrom, if desired. The bag i can then be placed with the rear side 5 resting upon a horizontal flat surface such as a table or the like, which will cause the access hole provided by the removal of the flap i l to be positioned at the top of the bag in the general position shown in Fig. 1, thus causing the bag to act an an accessible potato chip containing and dispensing dish, in effect. The advantages of this arrangement are obvious since it will make it possible for any number of people standing or sitting around the bag to reach the potato chips it to obtain and remove a desired quantity thereof without the necessity of reaching inwardly through the narrow open neck of the potato chip bag in the customary prior art manner, which is both unsanitary and liable to soil the hands or sleeves of the person doing so with the grease employed in making potato chips.

It should be understood that the arrangement of the resent invention, as above described, is primarily intended for use at picnics, parties, dinners and the like, where virtually the entire contents of the bag will be consumed at one sitting. However, if it is thought that less than the complete contents of the bag will be consumed at one sitting, the l i can be only partially severed as shown in Fig. 1 (although probably severed to a somewhat lesser extent) and after partial removal of the potato chips is the flap H can be replaced in its former position and the top portion 3 of the bag I can be downwardly rolled so as to engage the upper free end of the flap ll thus effectively closing the bag.

Ordinarily when it is thought that less than the complete contents of the bag will be used at one time or when the contents of the bag are to be removed and placed in another receptacle, the ordinary sealed closure means 3 at the upper end of the bag i may be opened and used, and the flap H need not be severed from the front side d of the bag I. In other words the two opening means provided in the improved bag of the present invention are independent, can be individually used, and each has its own particular advantages.

Numerous modifications and variations of the present invention will occur to those skilled in the art after a careful study hereof. All such properly within the spirit and teachings hereof are intended to be included and comprehended as fully as if specifically described, illustrated, and claimed herein.

For example, while the bag of the present invention is preferably made of a paper (usually transparent) which may be made of wood pulp products or various plastics or the like, suitably impregnated with wax, paraflin, or other sealing agents, I do not limit the present invention to such an arrangement. Any material may be used which is capable of being torn by drawing the tensile members therethrough. This also includes boxes and the like. Furthermore, I do not limit the present invention to a bag of the type described herein. Any desired type of closed container may be employed and the term bag as used herein is to be understood to have such a broad meaning. Furthermore, I do not limit the present invention to an arrangement wherein the tensile member is positioned in an oval loop with two separate ends extending through the aperture means. The tensile member may be arranged to cut any desired type of line, curve, or figure which may be two dimensional as illustrated herein, one dimensional, or in certain cases, three dimensional. In certain forms of the present invention the tensile member may be in the form of an endless loop not having two free ends.

Various types of sealing means may be employed for sealing the aperture or plurality of apertures through which the tensile member eX- tends, and in certain cases the sealing means may be eliminated, if desired. The tensile member may be fastened to the inside of the bag in any desired manner such as by glue, paraflin, or various other adhesive or cohesive means, or various mechanical fastening means may be employed at desired points or regions. In certain cases, the tensile member need not be positioned .7 under the surface of the bag to be severed but may be positioned actually in said surface or on the outside of said surface and arranged to effectively sever said surface along the tensile member when the tensile member is grasped and pulled. In some cases the surface to be effec tively severed may actually be precut along the severing line, and the longitudinal tensile member may be suitably cemented or otherwise fastened along the cut so as to seal same until the longitudinal tensile member is grasped and pulled, which will effectively cause the severing of the bag surface along the precut line. It should also be noted that the severing arrangement of the present invention may be modified as to position with respect to a bag to accomplish any desired dispensing purpose. The severing tensile member of the present invention may be made of string, thread, wire or any other desired type of tensile member capable of functioning in the above described manner.

The present invention is not limited to the arrangement specifically described and illustrated herein including the auxiliary opening of the present invention in addition to the standard sealed closure means at one end of the bag which is adapted to be manually opened when desired. The system of the present invention may be used with any desired number of any desired type of other openings or opening means, or, if desired, can be employed by itself with no other opening means being provided.

The exact composition, configuration, and relative positioning of the various component parts of the present invention are not critical and can be modified substantially within the spirit hereof.

The embodiments of the present invention de- '8 scribed and illustrated herein are exemplary only and are not intended to limit the scope hereof, which is to be interpreted in the light of the prior art and the appended claims only, with due consideration for the doctrine of equivalents.

I claim:

A system for opening a sealed bag made of thin tearable material and of longitudinal shape and having at least two sides, in a manner whereby convenient access to the contents of said bag through one of said sides will be facilitated, comprising: a thin longitudinal tensile member continuously adhesively fastened along a predetermined loop-like severing line to the inside surface of one side of a bag and within the confines of the bag at a point virtually intermediate the ends of said bag and in the form of a loop provided with actuating ends passing together through sealed aperture means in said side of said bag from the interior to the exterior thereof, whereby said ends can be manually grasped and pulled to effectively out out along said predetermined severing line any desired portion of said side of said bag lying immediately over and within the confines of said loop to provide a convenient access hole into said side of said bag.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 329,562 Howe Nov. 3, 1885 1,820,040 Zuckerman Aug. 25, 1931 1,821,011 Greenlaw Sept. 1, 1931 2,023,919 Duvall Dec. 10, 1935 2,151,523 Orr Mar. 21, 1939 2,293,952 Stroop Aug. 25, 1942 2,392,479 Humbert Jan. 8, 1946 

